Screening: Erika Runge, Warum ist Frau B. glücklich? (1968)

In the organizer's words:

For the multi-award-winning documentary Warum ist Frau B. glücklich? (1968, WDR, 43 min.), director Erika Runge invited the miner's widow, housewife and cleaner Maria Bürger to play the role of her own life. Erika Runge, who died at the end of October 2023, was a writer, committed feminist and communist with a doctorate and was preoccupied with the topic of happiness throughout her life: in various books, films and radio plays, she addressed the tension between the individual pursuit of happiness and the common good and provided food for thought on a possible realignment of the relationship between the individual and society.

Introduction and moderation: Dr. Regine Ehleiter, followed by a panel discussion with Dr. Britta Caspers and Katharina Król.

Following the film screening, the participants will discuss various aspects of Erika Runge's oeuvre, including her Bottrop Protocols, published by Suhrkamp in 1968, which were a focal point for discussions on literary theory, documentary aesthetics and socio-political issues. The volume provides a multi-layered and polyphonic picture of the Ruhr area in structural change, as a region that is to be understood as a historical constellation of eminently political character in a time of strong social and political tensions. While the Bottrop Protocols were primarily perceived supra-regionally, the question of regional feedback must also be discussed. In addition, the discussion focuses on documentary ethical aspects - for example, Erika Runge's own role as author, her intervention in what is portrayed and her responsibility towards those portrayed - aspects that were increasingly discussed in relation to the medium of film from the 1970s onwards.